Colonography, the use of electronic imaging technologies such as computed tomography (CT) to generate images of a patient's colon for purposes of colorectal cancer screening, is generally known. By way of example, these technologies are disclosed in the Johnson et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,928,314 and 7,035,681, the Zalis U.S. Pat. No. 6,947,784, the Vining U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,909,913 and 7,149,564, and PCT publication no. WO 2007/030132, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, this methodology involves obtaining a series of CT images of adjacent portions or slices of the colon. A radiologist then studies each of the images to identify any pre-cancerous polyps. Alternatively, a computer can effectively create a simulated intraluminal flight through the colon (this is also known as virtual colonoscopy). Colonography has been demonstrated to be a highly efficacious approach for detecting colorectal polyps.
Readers of CT colonography data sometimes prefer to maintain a small field of view, to maximize conspicuity of small polyps. However, this requires them to manually follow the colon throughout the abdomen and pelvis. Manually following the colon as it curves through the body can at times be difficult and may distract the reader from his or her primary task, which is to locate polyps and lesions within the colon. The reader may also sometimes recenter the segment of interest in the workstation display, further complicating the primary task. Conversely, the need for such recentering may be reduced if the image is viewed at a large field of view, but then any polyps may be more difficult to identify.